1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to animal feed dispensers and, more particularly, to an improved animal feeder having an adjustable feed dispensing mechanism.
All conventional gravity type feeders utilize so-called feed gates to regulate the flow of feed from a hopper to the animals. These feed gates are usually adjusted by some type of threaded adjusting mechanism to control the flow of feed. The threaded adjusting mechanisms found in hog feeders on the market today offer no means of accurately determining the flow of feed being dispensed. If the gate is open too much, more feed will be dispensed than the animals can eat and the excess feed is wasted. On the other hand if the gate is not open enough, the animals will not get the amount of food necessary for optimum growth. To compound the matter, as the animals grow larger, they need more food to continue optimal growth.
To adjust conventional feeders correctly to obtain optimum performance requires a certain amount of guesswork. Because adjusting the feeders is difficult and very labor intensive, many feeders are simply not adjusted properly, resulting in feed waste or poor animal growth rate as discussed above.
The present invention solves this problem by providing an improved feeder having a precise feed dispensing mechanism with standardized indicia to eliminate the guesswork from dispensing feed to the livestock.
The advantages provided by the present invention are that animal producers can control proper feed adjustment based on animal weight, feed type, number of animals, etc. Producers can also mandate a standard setting for all feeders for any given circumstance thereby ruling out potential variables in animal production.
Another advantage to the present invention is that routine adjustments to the feed dispensing mechanism can be accomplished simply and the feed gates can be quickly and fully opened for cleaning.
The dispensing mechanism of the present invention is user friendly, the index scale of 1 to 10 is easily read and understood, a direct acting index lever correlates to feed gate movements either upwardly or downwardly, the indexing lever and connecting rods are replaceable and the unique connecting rod attaches to the feed gate without bolts or welding.
A dust cover is included which makes the feeder of the present invention environmentally safe by preventing large amounts of dust from becoming airborne when a feeder is being filled by an automatic delivery system.
In addition to the above, the improved feeder of the present invention includes a feed drop tube holder similar to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,039 to adapt it for use with an automatic feed delivery system.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,039 to Leon S. Zimmerman discloses a livestock feeder for use with an automatic feed delivery system having a feed drop tube operatively connected thereto for dispensing feed into a feed bin. This feeder features a feed drop tube holder fabricated from a flexible, resilient material which is installed intermediate the opposed side walls of the feed bin by compressing the holder lengthwise with hand pressure to effectively reduce its overall length and to allow tabs formed on the ends thereof to engage a plurality of horizontally opposed slots formed in the opposed side walls.